CHARGE OF FORGERY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3152, 2 August 1917, Page 8

CHARGE OF FORGERY

STATIONMASTER, ACQUITTED. By '.Telegraph—Press AssociationTimaru, August 1. A short calendar of the Supreme Court concluded to-day, with the case in which Roger l'\ Patterson, formerly stationmaster at Albury, who was transferred to Coalgate in November last, was charged with endeavouring, to obtain £2 Us. from the Railway Department as removal ex : penses by submitting as a vouchor for that' amount what purported to bo a receipted lump sum account of C. A. Clark, hotelkeeper at Albury. The Department asked for details, and Clark, on being seen about theso by an officer, denied that he had received the money, <md denied signing the receipt for it. Patterson, therefore, was charged witli forgery and uttering, and attempting to obtain money by the false pretence that lie had incurred'such eswnses. His defence was that he and his family did not stav at the hotel two days, but with a railway ganger.'to whose wife he paid and j»ave the man a valuable gun; lhat ho was entitled to collect ox'/nsss as for staying at the hotel, but could not then submit a voucher from the ganger, liecause a 'regulation forbade railway men increasing; tln"r income from other .sources, and Clark assisted him. to get a. refund bv giving him an estimate of the cost und'siimimr as nsifl the .■>-- count. Cirri,- admitted giving (he estimate, but denied receinlin<r it. Two rrperts fir th" Cmwn said Hip signature was'unlike Clark's, and two for Hie defence said if was undo-'btedly Clm-V*. The inry returned a verdict of not guilty on all counts.